12 free PC videogames to play this summer
Articles Summer is here (in the northern hemisphere of the planet). No more homeworks, exams, etc. Many people have a few days of vacation. It is time for sun, beach, swimming pool, and leisure. We can take a walk with our family, go out with friends to have a drink, read those books that we don't have time to read at other times of the year, or play video games.
That might sound simple, but it may become an impossible task. It is usual want to play a game and not knowing which to choose. We look in the stack of video games (PC and videoconsole), and we don't decide which one to play. It is possible that we already player all games and want to try a new one.
The offer in terms of video games today is immense: games for video consoles, mobile games, games for PC, digital games, flash games, etc.. It is quite likely that we'll spend our time trying to find a game to play.
in Addition, if we are not usual players of video consoles, it is quite likely that when we go to play a quick game, our time is consumed by installing the latest updates of the console and video game.
If we are PC gamers, it is quite likely that we'll waste time looking for the official site, where we can download the video game.
That's why in Usitility we've make a selection of 12 free videogames for PC.
All the games mentioned have a link to a direct download page of the game, so that you don't need to search the download files of that video games.
We have included video games of very different genres: Role, First Person Shooter, Action, Platforms, Shoot 'em up, driving, puzzles, adventure and more. In such a way that you can choose those games that you like.
Here is a video with a summary of the video games that appear in this article. So you will be able to quickly see the visual appearance and sound of the video games listed in this article.
This is an index with the recommended games in this article, and a brief information of each one of them.
- Abobo''s Big Adventure (Beat em up, Platforms, Fight) (Windows and Mac)
- Vocaluxe (Musical, SingStar) (Windows)
- Xmoto (Piloting Skill) (Windows, Linux and Mac)
- Tibia (MMORPG) (Windows and Linux)
- pouetChess (Chess) (Windows)
- Counter Strike 2D (Shooter) (Windows, Linux and Mac)
- OpenTTD (Strategy, Simulation) (Windows, Linux and Mac)
- Neverball (Ability) (Windows, Linux and Mac)
- Beneath a Steel Sky (Graphic Adventure) (Windows)
- Phlipple (Puzzle) (Windows and Linux)
- Warsow (First Person Shooter) (Windows, Linux and Mac)
- Spelunky (Platforms, Puzzle) (Windows)
Abobo's Big Adventure
We start the list with this great game that tells the history of Abobo, a character of the Double Dragon the series, marching looking for his son Aboboy, who has been kidnapped by the omnipresent evildoers.
This game is a tribute to the video games of 8-bit NES video console (Nintendo Entertainment System). It is for this reason that we recommend strongly this game to all those who have played some NES video game, so you will find a multitude of NES characters featured in this video game. Also there are a multitude of homages to other video games such as: Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Tetris and more.
In the course of the game the play style will be change. The game begins with a Beat 'em upDouble Dragon style, continuous with Mario Bros platforms style and passes through the top-down view Zelda style. 
These are control keys needed to handle the character throughout the different phases of the game:
- Arrows keys : move the character around the screen
- A : Action 1
- S : Action 2
- A+S : special Move
- P : Pause
- M : Menu
- F : full Screen
The keys A and S will perform a different action depending on the level at which we are in. In some levels are used to to hit enemies, in other levels for swimming, etc. We must be attentive to a sign is displayed on the screen, and that indicates that we must press A and S keys at the same time to be able to do a special move. This special movement will end up with the enemies more rapid and forceful.
Throughout the game we can unlock achievements, that makes the game even more fun.
The game saves automatically the progress, so that if we finish a level and close the game, no need to worry, because when we launch it again, we will be able to access to the selection menu and choose the last level.
Without doubt a game that will appeal to all player who has lived the Nintendo 8 bits era. Sure that pulls out more than a smile and wake up some nostalgia.
Trick : The game is single player, but if we want to play two players in co-op mode, once we get to level 7 of the game, we will have to press the following sequence keys: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, S.
Vocaluxe
The summer is a time to get together with friends to chat, walk, take something, and sing.
Thanks to Vocaluxe we will convert our PC into an advanced Karaoke system, that will allow to spend great moments in front of the microphone.
The game style is the same as that of the game Sony PlayStation SingStar. We will have a list of songs that we can sing alone or in company.
When we chose a song, it will display the lyrics at the bottom of the screen, and a bar will appear indicating if we are singing the song in tune. It also shows video clip of the song while we sing.
Songs must be downloaded from the Internet. There are a multitude of sites where we can download these songs. For example, you can visit: http://ultrastar-es.org/en/canciones. If you search on google “UltraStar songs”, we will be able to download songs for Vocaluxe.
Vocaluxe it is a renewed and enhanced version of UltraStar, so we can use UltraStar songs on Vocaluxe.
We need to copy downloades songs to the Songs folder. For example: c:\Games\Vocaluxe\Songs.
There are some songs that allow to sing duo. In this game mode the player will sing a part of the song, and the other player sing another distinct part.
There are 3 game modes:
- Normal : we'll pick the songs that we want to sing and the players that are going to sing.
- Medley : We will choose 5 songs and it will be mixed together to make a single song made up of fragments of the 5 songs.
- Tick Tack Toe : This game mode is a tick tack toe "simulation". We must choose where we want to place our token, and the game will choose a random song that we should sing together with our opponent. Whoever wins, it will position his token on the board. The first one to get 3 in a row wins the battle.
This game promises hours of fun with friends. You can play up to 12 players at the same time. Being able to connect up to 6 microphones. We must have some sort of built-in microphone for play this game. If Windows is set up properly, we will be able to use the wireless SingStar microphones.
The game also supports webcam to create the player's avatars, and can be controlled using the remote control Wiimote of Nintendo Wii.
The game is multilingual and can be configured going to main menu settings.
XMoto
If we want to test our skill with the keyboard, nothing better that XMoto to test our skill with the cursor keys.
This game is inspired by the famous Elasto Mania, and the aim of the game is the same: to collect certain elements of the screen and arrive to the finish line without tripping over obstacles or screen objects.
We control a Motocross motorcycle, and we have to play with the physics of the bike to be able to overcoming the obstacles of the screen. The management of the game is very simple, so we will only use the arrow keys and space bar . But the game is complicated according to overcome the levels. and we will require a great deal of skill to overcome some of the levels of the game.
The game features a great number of levels, sure enough, it will bring many hours of fun. If we finish all available levels, we will be able to download more free levels from the Internet. At present, there are nearly 3000 additional levels available, so that the playability of the game becomes almost infinite.
If we like the competition, we can enable an option in the game that download from the Internet the best time for each screen, and this way, when we're playing a level, we will see “the best time ghost” for that level. If this is the first time that we played this kind of game, we should not be discouraged by the best Internet times, because even though starting to play the game is simple, mastering it, is something that requires a lot of time.
Without a doubt, this game is recommended for those people who want to play fast and challenging games.
Download for Windows
If you like Role video games, and this summer we're going to have enough free time, nothing better than to play Tibia.
This MMORPG Free to Play (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) will occupy a large part of our free time, since its gameplay is virtually infinite.
The objectives of the game are typical of this style: finish missions, kill enemies and level up our character to get better weapons and skills.
The development of the game takes place Online, that is to say, we will meet with other Online players within the same map, so that we can collaborate with them to finish some missions, or we can attack them in order to steal their belongings and weapons.
To begin to play we need to register in the official web page and create a character (https://secure.tibia.com/account/?subtopic=createaccount). Once we do this, we need to download the installer of the game.
The first level of the game is a tutorial which explains game controls and the most basic functions. Once complete the tutorial we and go up our initial level, we can begin to perform missions and participate in the online game.
The game was developed in the year 1997, and to this day still improving and updating. This is thanks to the huge amount of users that continue to play the game, and that are part of the big community of the Tibia. So if we access the game, we will see that at any time there are other users to share missions.
The game is Free to Play, and includes the option to purchase a Premium paid account, that will speed up the evolution of our character within the game.
Download for Windows
pouetChess
Chess, a centenary game played by people of all ages, genders, and races. This game has captivated millions of people around the world, and thanks to the computers we can play i alone.
pouetChess is a simple game that allows us to play chess in single-player or two players.
This game stands out for its simplicity, it's the closest thing to play with a board and the original pieces, because the options of the game are minimal, we can start playing in a couple of clicks.
If we play alone we will be able to adjust the difficulty level of the computer. We will be able to choose from the “Rookie”, or the “I am Kasparov” level. The game also has the option to show possible moves we can make with the chose piece. That is a great help for beginners. Keep in mind that the computer takes a long time time to make a move, this simulates the behavior that a human rival would have.
We can play two players on the same PC. Each time a player does a movement, the board will turn on and the other player can make his movement.
Without doubt a perfect game for the Chess lovers, that does not require installation, and begins to play immediately, without having to set up a multitude of options, or browse endless menus.
Download for Windows
Counter Strike 2D
Counter Strike was one of the first massive FPS (First Person Shooter). Actually, the amount of FPS video games are huge. For this reason, we recommend Counter Strike 2D that has an isometric view and gets away from the FPS.
The game features various game modes. Some of them are:
- Bomb defuse : the objective of the game is to avoid the terrorists to place a bomb, or if we choose the terrorists, our goal will be to place the bomb and make it to explode.
- Deadmatch : the aim is to finish with the more number of enemies and die the fewest number of times.
- Capture the flag : the objective is to capture the flag of the opponent team and avoid that they capture our own flag.
- Rescue the hostage : it must finish with the terrorist and rescue the hostages that have been kidnapped. If we chose the the terrorists side, we must avoid the hostages rescue.
The game is very easy to play. We use the mouse for aim-and-shoot, and AWSD keys to move around the map. We start with a gun and a knife to kill the enemies. If we kill an enemy, we will be able to pick up his gun and make use of it.
This game is perfect for play Online with friends, which allows to join to multiple servers, and play in the same game level. This way we can form teams to play against each other.
Also we can play against other Online players, but the servers are usually empty.
If we want, we can play alone against the computer. To play this way we must select the “ Auto Fill ” option in the “ Bots ” tab.
OpenTTD
It's time to get into the skin of a entrepreneur of a transpor company. In this game we have as a goal to build the best network of transport of the whole area. We will build roads, railways, airports and seaports. In addition to the networks of transport, and also we must control the vehicles that circulate on those ways: buses, planes, ships, etc..
We have to compete with other transport companies, and to do that our transport network and our vehicles must be at the top of the place.
We have an initial budget to invest in infrastructure. We need to communicate through our transport pathways other villages of the map, in such a way that their citizens use the vehicles of our company to travel from one place to another.
OpenTTD is based on the popular Transport Tycoon and the gameplay is the same. The video game is multilingual and the operation is fairly simple.
This game promises hours of fun in front of the screen of the PC, as there are a multitude of factors that will make our transport company to succeed or fail against others transport companies.
If you have enough free time and like this type of construction games, OpenTTD offer you great moments of entertainment.
Download for Windows
Neverball
Now let's test our skill with the keyboard and mouse.
The mechanics of this game is very simple, so we just need to pick up coins from the screen and take the ball to the goal. It sounds easy, but to get the ball to the goal we need to move the board where is situated the ball, which it complicates the task.
We can move the board using the mouse or the arrows keys on the keyboard. It depends on our skill with each peripheral we will choose one or the other. Using the mouse, can seem to be more complicated at first, but in the long run can lead to a more precise control of the ball.
If this game is very hard the first few times you play it, and you don't have enough patience to get through the levels, you can play the game Neverputt that is included in the package of Neverball.
Neverputt it is a game of minigolf, in which you will have to throw the ball in the pit of the minigolf. The handling is much more simple than Neverball, and the fun is also guaranteed.
The game is multilingual and does not require installation. So start to play it will be as simple as unzip the files included in the download and run the file neverball.exe or neverputt.exe.
This game is perfect for play a quick game, the levels are not excessively long, and the progress of the game is saved automatically.
Download for Windows
Beneath a Steel Sky
it Is time to address a genre that today is almost forgot: the graphic adventures.
This genre of video games hit strong in the late 80's and the early-mid 90's. In these games we are the protagonist of the story, and we must overcome situations and events by solving puzzles and using the logic. We can say that this video games are interactive books, because the stories are often deep and captivating, and we must interact to make the story go on.
This game, also known as BASS, was created in 1993, and today is offered free of charge.
The story begins when a helicopter crashes to the outskirts of the city, in the desert where only inhabit the rebels that have a style of life at the margins of the rest of the civilization. The only survivor of the accident is a the child who is adopted by the leader of the tribe, and that grows under the customs and the style of life in the desert. This child will be named as Robert Foster.
Past the years, the leader of the tribe and shaman, predicts the onset of the demon in the village to kidnap the adopted child (Robert Foster). A few days an helicopter appears in the tribe and kidnap Robert. On the way to the city, the helicopter crash and Robert it is the only survivor once more time. When he comes out of the helicopter there are a few guards waiting for him, but Foster manages to escape and to hide on a ship near the accident.
From here the graphic adventure begins, and we must reveal the mysteries that accompany the story: why Robert is being persecuted?, why has survived two air crashes?, what interests had the men who kidnapped him at the village?.
Don't forget that the game was developed in 1993, and therefore the music and graphics are from that time. The game is played with the mouse, by clicking on the screen elements and interacting with them (Point and Click). The left mouse button is used to move to the character and obtain information from the objects on the stage. The right mouse button is used to make use of the objects on the stage and of the inventory (located in the upper part of the screen).
Keep in mind that we can die in this game, so we need to get used to to save the game frequently (by pressing F5 to access menu where we can save and load the game).
If we want to enable subtitles in other languages (i.e. Spanish) we must do the following steps.
Once the game is installed, we need to edit file “beneath.ini”, it is located in the directory where the game was installed. In that file we need to add the two following lines to the end of the file and save it:
subtitles=true
If we want to access the options of the game, we must press F5 on the keyboard to display the options menu.
Phlipple
The summer is a good time to entertain us solving puzzles, sudoku or crossword puzzles.
The next game proposes an interesting game mode, in which we must to put together all the sides of the cubes displayed in screen. That is to say, if, for example, there is a cube on the screen (6 sides), we need to stack all of the sides in a single side without leaving any side of the cube alone.
in order To control the game, we must use the arrows keys and the A and D keys (turn the plane). In this way we should complete levels that will increase the difficulty as we finish the levels of the game.
This game is perfect to play fast games any time of the day, since it does not require much time to get acclimated to the control of the game, and the screens are usually short. In addition, the playability is high, since it is likely that we will stuck on some level, and don't stop until we end that level.
Warsow
Let us move on to the games first-person shooter FPS (First Person Shooter's). This genre that is so common today, had its origins in the first FPS for PC: Wolfinstein 3D and Doom. Subsequently FPS Online were popularized, in that games we could play against other players on the same network, or via the Internet. Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament were the main representatives of this genre.
Warsow copy the game mode of Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament, and provide a game experience very similar to those video games.
The mechanics of the game are simple: to finish with rivals by making use the weapons available on the screen.
The game is totally Online, we can play against players from all over the world using the game servers, or we can play it in a local network with friends. There are different game modes: Deadmatch, Duel Arena, Capturing the flag, defuse the bomb and more.
In the Online servers there is usually very experienced players, so it is possible that in the first plays we'll don't last too much.
Game's graphics are very colorful and bold, as they make use of the graphic technique called “Cell Shading”, that gets the game scenarios and characters have a cartoon or comic look.
This game is perfect for an evening with friends and play a few rounds of Deadmatch or capture the flag.
Spelunky
Finally we have a platforms game. In this game we need to explore a cave in search of hidden treasures. The objective is to collect the highest number of coins, precious stones, and diamonds as possible.
The game includes a part of puzzle where we need to use the elements of the screen to be able to continue moving forward in the game, so that we are not merely to make jumps and lashes, therefor we will have to learn to use objects with wisdom to complete certain areas of the levels.
The control of the game is the arrow keys and the Z, X and C. It is convenient to play the initial tutorial, that explains the skills of our character.
The game is perfect play for long time and try to collect as many coins as possible.
It's not necessary to install the game, so we just need to unzip the downloaded file and run the file “Spelunky.exe”.
This is a small selection of all the free games that it is located in Usitility:
Games Free for Windows
To make this article, and the accompanying video we made use of the following programs:
Video capture made with:
- Dxtory
- Bandicam
Screenshots taken with ShareX
Video edited using Sony Vegas
it Is highly likely that we miss some games that you'd like to see in this list, or maybe you'd like to comment something about the games of the list, or you may have a problem or question about the installation of the games. Don't hesitate to use the comments to give us your opinion.
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